Paris Alston: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness and social isolation an epidemic. This is something we’ve discussed as part of our monthly mental health series, Wake Up Well. Now the CDC is out with a report showing that loneliness can pose a threat to mental and physical health, and the rates are highest for bisexual and transgender individuals. Here to talk about how to address this is Dr. Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and coauthor of the book The Good Life. Good morning, Doctor Waldinger. Thanks for being here.

Dr. Robert Waldinger: Good morning. It’s a pleasure to talk with you, Paris.

Alston: So what were your biggest takeaways from this report?

Waldinger: It made so much sense to me, because we know that people who feel on the margins, who don’t always feel included socially, for whatever reason, that those people are more likely to have higher levels of loneliness. So, of course, LGBTQ+ people are very likely to have higher levels of loneliness.

Alston: And what are some of the factors that affect how lonely we may feel, and what’s the impact of that?

Waldinger: Well, as we know, you can be lonely in a crowd. You can be lonely in an intimate partnership. And so loneliness is a subjective experience. And some of the factors include geographic isolation. Of course, sometimes they include being afraid of people, because you felt that people can’t be trusted. But many times that includes that sense of just being different. People who are disabled have higher rates of loneliness because often they don’t feel like they’re part of the mainstream of our society.

Alston: And for those who may not have those differing abilities, what are the physical manifestations of the stress that loneliness can enact?

Waldinger: The physical manifestations are actually surprising: That we get sick more often. Our immune systems don’t operate as well, so we don’t ward off infection as well if we are lonely. We are more likely to get the diseases of aging sooner: Heart disease, type two diabetes. All of those diseases come to us sooner if we are lonely. We think that’s because loneliness and isolation are stressful, and that stress changes our body chemistry and our body activity, to break down body systems, to make us less likely to ward off infection. All of those things that most of us take for granted.

Alston: So this report is obviously timely because it is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. How can loneliness be nuanced for LGBTQ+ individuals?

Waldinger: Well, the nuance can be that we make assumptions about each other. So I may have my ideas about what it’s like to be LGBTQ, and of course, that set of initials contains so many different identities, right? And each of us makes assumptions. And so what I think can help ease loneliness is for each of us to be curious about people who are different and to just ask people more. Tell me what it’s like. What’s it like from your perspective to to live the way you live? To be part of your community?

Alston: And lastly, Doctor Waldinger, what are some things that we can do both as individuals and as a society to address loneliness?

Waldinger: I would say we want to be active. So if you see people who look isolated, who look lonely, make that little extra effort to connect with them. It could be seeing somebody alone in a lunchroom at work. It could be going over and talking to someone at a party or at a community gathering who’s by themselves. That we can be the ambassadors to reach out to other people, to help them feel less lonely, because often they don’t have the courage to reach out to us.

Alston: Well, that is Doctor Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and coauthor of the book The Good Life. Thank you so very much.

Waldinger: It was a pleasure.

Alston: You’re listening to GBH news.

Loneliness is most common among Americas who identify as bisexual and transgender, and can leave them more vulnerable to physical and mental illnesses, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That loneliness can have real effects on peoples’ health, Dr. Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and coauthor of the book “The Good Life,” told GBH’s Morning Edition co-host Paris Alston. He was not involved in the CDC study.

“People who feel on the margins, who don’t always feel included socially, for whatever reason, that those people are more likely to have higher levels of loneliness,” Waldinger said. “We get sick more often. Our immune systems don’t operate as well, so we don’t ward off infection as well if we are lonely.”

About 56 percent of people who identified as bisexual and between 56 and 64 percent of transgender people surveyed told researchers they often felt lonely. They were also more likely to report stress and a history of depression, and trans people in particular reported they did not have enough social and emotional support systems.

Diseases associated with aging, like heart disease, also appear sooner in life for people who report feeling lonely, he said.

“We think that’s because loneliness and isolation are stressful, and that stress changes our body chemistry and our body activity, to break down body systems, to make us less likely to ward off infection — all of those things that most of us take for granted,” Waldinger said.

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness and social isolation an epidemic.

Loneliness can come in all kinds of situations, Waldinger said. Sometimes it comes with geographic isolation, or from fears and distrust of other people.

“You can be lonely in a crowd. You can be lonely in an intimate partnership. And so loneliness is a subjective experience,” he said. “But many times that includes that sense of just being different. People who are disabled have higher rates of loneliness because often they don’t feel like they’re part of the mainstream of our society.”

To help people feel more connected, Waldinger said, try and pause before making assumptions about them.

“Each of us makes assumptions,” he said. “What I think can help ease loneliness is for each of us to be curious about people who are different, and to just ask people more: ‘Tell me what it’s like, what’s it like from your perspective to live the way you live? To be part of your community?’”

And take an active role in connection, he said.

“If you see people who look isolated, who look lonely, make that little extra effort to connect with them,” he said. “It could be seeing somebody alone in a lunchroom at work. It could be going over and talking to someone at a party or at a community gathering who’s by themselves. We can be the ambassadors to reach out to other people, to help them feel less lonely, because often they don’t have the courage to reach out to us.”